Campus smoking stamped out
Nick DeMoss
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: News
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A statewide public university tobacco ban became state law Wednesday after Gov. Mike Beebe signed the "Clean Air on Campus Act of 2009." The law will take effect August 1, 2010, and will carry stiff penalties for violators: fines ranging from $100 to $500.The law is designed to prevent medical issues that can arise from secondhand smoke.
"Smoking, directly or indirectly, is a major cause of preventable diseases and death," according to the act. "Secondhand smoke can cause or contribute to lung cancer, heart disease, chronic lung ailments and low birth-weight."
The law defines campus as "all property, including buildings and grounds, that are owned or operated by a state-supported institution of higher education" and mandates that the colleges and universities begin advertising the law 30 days prior to the start, something the UA has been doing since 2008, when the university implemented its tobacco ban.
Act 734, originally House Bill 2007, was introduced March 6. The House passed it March 19 with a vote of 68-26-6, and the Senate passed it March 30 with a vote of 34-0-1, according to the Arkansas General Assembly Web site.
In the meantime, the UA tobacco use ban will remain in effect and will proceed as planned, despite legislation from the Residents' Interhall Congress and the Staff Senate asking for revisions, FRESH committee co-chair Susan Rausch said Monday.
The university ban, which has been in place since July 1, received criticism during a meeting Monday when several FRESH members called for more enforcement. The current plan is based on raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco use, with the ideal end result of less people smoking.
The official stance of the committee is an "expectation of respectful compliance" to the policy and that the plan going forward is to further educate people on campus about the policy, Rausch said in an interview prior to the passage of the law.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 9
spartacus007
Adam
posted 4/03/09 @ 6:10 AM CST
The law actually goes farther than the blue box indicates.
In addition to tobacco, it bans "inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any ... Other lighted combustible plant material"
Meaning that lighting a wood match or inhaling smoke from a leaf that blew into a tailgater's cooking fire will be illegal. (Continued…)
rose king
posted 4/03/09 @ 9:38 AM CST
Who,and how will the university inforce this issue.
Jerry
posted 4/03/09 @ 3:09 PM CST
This is ridiculous. Clean air Act? Clean air??? How about banning all the cars and trucks that roll over campus each day and pollute the air with much worse gases than a cigarette can ever produce? How about using space more economically and not building so many huge parking lots so car can continue to pollute the air on campus?
That's right, trust the Americans to ignore the elephant in the room while fretting about trivial things. (Continued…)
Sharon Davison
posted 5/11/09 @ 7:04 PM CST
I'm very anti nicotine/tobacco.
I still believe it is wrong to ban outdoor smoking.
Even if it drifts into doorways, even if 'bad' smokers litter their butts, even if. (Continued…)
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